Strawberry Festival releases 2022 attendance numbers
After the conclusion of the 87th Annual Florida Strawberry Festival, the festival released their comprehensive attendance numbers.
The 11-day event drew 543,129 total visitors that took part in concerts, livestock shows, free entertainment, rises, food, vendors, arts and crafts and more.
“We had a phenomenal run and we are truly thankful,” Florida Strawberry Festival President Paul Davis said in a press release. “We had good weather, terrific crowds and everyone seemed to be enjoying time with their families.”
Belle City Amusements, Inc., the carnival company that provides the rides for the Florida Strawberry Festival, reported a 14 percent increase in sales from 2021’s festival, making it the largest attended midway in the festival’s long-standing history. In addition, despite massive crowds making their way to Plant City for the festival, the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office and Plant City Police Department — both of whom are contracted to conduct security operations during the event — reported just seven arrests throughout the event.
“We want to say thank you to our patrons, vendors, concessionaires, community volunteers, sponsors and everyone who had a hand in making our festival a success,” Davis said. “This event is a team effort, and we look forward to seeing everyone again in 2023.”
The 2023 Florida Strawberry Festival will be held March 2 through March 12.
2022 Plant City Easter Egg Hunt Winners
Hundreds of children from three to 11 years old participated in the 33rd Annual City-Wide Easter Egg Hunt on Saturday, April 11, the city’s largest crowd for the event ever.
With 10,000 Easter eggs hidden, including special golden eggs for prizes, attendees also enjoyed Trina’s Trains and Things, A1 Magic, M6FX LLC for airbrushing, Lakeland Moonwalk and of course the Easter Bunny in attendance for photos.
Plant City also wants to recognize all the sponsors of this year’s event, including Global Sports Alliance, Inc., Fazoli’s, Sedita Kilton, Bubba’s 33, Plant City Optimist Club, Plant City High School Key Club, Toufayan Bakeries and Friends of Recreation and Parks.
This year’s winners:
Top Row (Left to Right): Dylan Cabral (7-8 Nest), Yuletsy Agudo (7-8 Nest), Nicole Pulido (9-11 Nest), Alexa Vargas (3-4 Nest Sister Standing in) Kimberly Sanchez (9-11 Nest), Tobias Price (9-11 Nest), Jaylene Cordoba (7-8 Nest), Hamzah Khan (5-6 Nest)
Bottom Row (Left to Right): Isabella Mejia (5-6 Nest), Soren Edmunds( 5-6 Nest), Jacob Bumgarner (5-6 Nest), Blakely Payne (7-8 Nest), Malachi Burkowske (3-4 Nest), Peyton Chubb (3-4 Nest)
The last golden egg winner showed up after the photo was taken with their golden egg and is not pictured: Nathan Alejo (9-11 Nest)
Plant City Parks & Recreation to host 25 Optimist Tri-Star Soccer Skills Competition
Plant City Parks & Recreation will host the 25th Optimist Tri-Star Soccer Skills Competition on Saturday, April 30 at the Otis M. Andrews Sports Complex, 2402 E. Cherry St.
The competition emphasizes the three most important fundamental skills of soccer: dribbling, passing and shooting. Participants will go through a series of all three drills in an attempt to reach a perfect score. The points scored from all three drills will then be added together for a cumulative total.
Scoring starts at 9 a.m. and ends at 11 a.m. with awards to be handed out after for the top three scorers in each age group:
Boys: 6-7, 8-9, 10-11, 12-13-14
Girls 6-7, 8-9, 10-11, 12-13-14
No pre-registration is needed, all participants will be able to register on site when they compete in this free event, co-sponsored by the Optimist Club of Plant City. For more information, visit www.plantcitygov.com/parksrec